A week ago, Tesla announced the addition of a new car to its lineup, but this is not a Model S Plaid or Roadster-level vehicle. Instead, it is Tesla's small hatchback, priced at just $25,000.

This is a big deal. Not just for Tesla, but for the entire electric car industry. Frankly, the Tesla Hatchback is the only Tesla worth caring about right now.

Tesla has made a name for itself by marketing its electric cars as premium, high-quality vehicles. But the hatchback shows that Elon Musk's company is pivoting to offer something to a different group of people. And that is a group that perhaps had not previously considered buying a Tesla.

Developing new technology is costly, and electric cars are no different. [Even now, it is a challenge of sorts to convince people that electric cars are a realistic alternative to cars that run on internal combustion engines.

When the first Tesla car was launched nearly 13 years ago, electric cars were seen as small, scary, and impractical in terms of range and charging time. In contrast, the first Tesla Roadster promised a range of 200 to 250 miles on a single charge and a charging time of 3.5 hours with a 240-volt connection. The price of these early models exceeded $100,000, equivalent to $125,000 today.

It is natural for automakers producing cars in that price range to lean toward the luxury end of the market, because the only people who can invest that much money in one car are those who expect to pay for it. If you're going to pay a lot of money for unproven technology, it's obviously better to have something that's worth it.

But selling a luxury car will only get you so far if you want it to be accepted by the mainstream. This is why Tesla made major changes with the Model 3 in 2019, despite sticking with the more expensive model for several years. At launch, the car's cheapest model cost $35,400, significantly less than any Tesla before it.

The Model 3 has since increased in price to $39,990 before taking into account subsidies and potential savings, but it still remains the cheapest car in the Tesla lineup. It quickly became the most popular Tesla, but has recently been replaced in the U.S. by the much newer Tesla Model Y crossover. The Model Y costs $4,000 more, but has a 60-mile longer range and much more storage space.

In other words, even impressive vehicles like the Tesla Model S Plaid are most often purchased at more affordable prices. They may not have as much range, they may not have as much acceleration or top speed, but they are built to offer the same driving experience.

Every car is built to have the same "feel" as a Tesla. From the interior to the infotainment system, it feels like Tesla is always trying to make sure that everyone gets nearly the same experience no matter which car they buy. Even Autopilot, a feature usually expected to be hidden behind a pay wall, is available on the cheaper cars. Even better, all four models have the same Autopilot.

The Tesla Model S and Model X may get new updates first, and they may get more frivolous features like AAA gaming and yoke steering wheels, but they are all still Tesla cars.

Tesla has not provided many specifics about the hatchback, but it is safe to assume that the company will apply the same philosophy to this car - even if it is nearly $15,000 cheaper than the current "cheap" Tesla.

There is no shortage of low-cost electric cars these days, but they can still be quite expensive.

A Nissan Leaf hatchback costs $31,670 without the federal credit, but that's just for the basics: a 40 kWh battery and ePedal. At this price, you don't even get a 50 kW fast charging port. The model with all the bells and whistles, including the ProPilot driver assistance system, costs $44,920 before incentives, or the same as the Tesla Model Y. Even if $25,000 is Tesla's "potential savings price" and what you actually pay is closer to $30,000, it still seems like a bargain.

We also know that Tesla has made this car small and light enough to increase its range by up to 14%. Even better, Tesla plans to include a smaller, higher-density battery, which promises to hold more energy in a smaller space. As anyone who has compared electric cars knows, range is Tesla's strong suit. [In fact, Elon Musk has dropped the sale of the standard range Tesla Model Y. According to the Tesla CEO, this is "unacceptably low. Unless there has been a major change of philosophy in the past 12 months, this means that the Tesla hatchback could offer the best dollar-to-range ratio on the market.

If that happens, it will attract would-be electric car owners to Tesla. Even I would be tempted, even though I intend to use up my electric car before even thinking about buying a new one. This will only spur Tesla's plentiful competitors to try to undercut Tesla in every way possible and offer their own high-mileage, low-cost electric cars.

The Tesla Model S Plaid may be fast and powerful, and the Model 3 and Model Y may both be cheap and popular, but that is not what we should be focusing on now. It's the arrival of the Tesla hatchback, because 2023 can't come soon enough.